Reese Witherspoon Talks Gender Equality, Diversity, and More in Vogue's Latest Cover Story

Updated on Jan 12, 2019 at 11:30 AM

Reese Witherspoon is on a mission to fight against inequality and for diversity in Hollywood. The 42-year-old Big Little Lies actress — who graced the cover of Vogue's February issue and posed with her mother, Betty, and 19-year-old daughter, Ava Phillippe, in the magazine's spread — opened up about her efforts to push for progress and change in the industry. Reese, who founded production company Pacific Standard and media company Hello Sunshine, has come a long way from her Legally Blonde days, though she still has a deep appreciation for her earlier roles. With a foothold in Hollywood, she's taking on more projects to ensure that what audiences see on screen reflects the real world. In Vogue's cover story, written by Meghan Daum, Reese shares her thoughts on gender equality, representation, and more. See some of her best quotes ahead and prepare to be inspired!

On being vocal about her beliefs: "I always tended to be outspoken with my opinions. Whether they were appropriate or not."
On the mission of her production and media companies: "The idea is to put women at the center of the story. I was sick of making movies where I was the only female lead on the set. I was sick of seeing scripts where there was one female role, badly written, and yet every actress in town wanted the part because there was nothing else."
On the importance of diversifying Hollywood: "I finally asked myself, Why does it have to be the same 20 people making all the movies? Maybe there is room for a more inclusive idea about who can be on-screen and who can get it funded. Maybe there are different ways to get content made so that the world we see on-screen looks more like the world we walk through in real life."

On the Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault allegations: "I think I felt like a lot of people in that I was shocked that I didn't know. I'd heard rumors, but then again I've heard rumors about me that aren't true! I always try not to judge people based on rumors. I never in my imagination thought that any of that was happening. I did not. And here I am."
On why she believes women should have their own money: "But there's a reason I'm very passionate about women having their own money. I have a lot of friends and I have a lot of personal experiences with women feeling afraid and making life choices because they felt completely paralyzed or in a stasis because they didn't know what to do financially. And you can't have liberation if you don't have that."
On everything she's accomplished: "I didn't think a moment like this was going to happen. We're not there yet. But I lay down and dreamed of all this stuff seven or eight years ago and now it's finally starting to happen. I guess what I do now is start thinking of some more dreams."